Asked for
The Phey campus of SECMOL
Wikipedia says the production was denied permission to shoot at the Phey campus of SECMOL, so the scenes were shot at the Druk White Lotus School instead.
Played forwards, shot backwards · 2009
3 Idiots
1 Shimla · A 20-day schedule
The Ridge at Mall Road, Shimla, October 2021. A street view of the town, not of the hotel. Laluttam · CC BY-SA 4.0 2 Ladakh · The school at Shey
Druk White Lotus School, known locally as Rancho School, at Shey in Ladakh, July 2016. Ktoya · CC BY-SA 3.0 3 Ladakh · The lake
Pangong Tso, seen from eastern Ladakh, April 2016. Neek-Theri · CC BY-SA 4.0 4 Bangalore · December 2008
The entrance to the Main Block at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, November 2017. Apb2693 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia says the film was shot in reverse order, present-day scenes first. These frames follow the shoot, not the story.
Sources
Flip the order
Two ways through the same places
The film runs one way. The crew went the other. Flip the switch and the three legs trade places.
Sources
Story order: the college years come first, then Shimla, then Ladakh.
- 1On screen
The college years
IIM Bangalore plays Imperial College of Engineering; the cast and crew stayed on the campus in December 2008. The hospital scenes were shot in Noida; no date is given for them.
The entrance to the Main Block at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, November 2017. Apb2693 · CC BY-SA 4.0 IIM Bangalore
Fortis Hospital, Noida, photographed in January 2010. Fareb · Public domain Fortis Hospital, Noida
Sources
- 2On screen
Shimla and Chail
A 20-day schedule in Shimla with Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Location lists name a palace hotel, a church and Chail Palace, without saying which scene was where.
The Ridge at Mall Road, Shimla, October 2021. A street view of the town, not of the hotel. Laluttam · CC BY-SA 4.0 Woodville Palace Hotel
Christ Church on The Ridge, Shimla, January 2011. ShashankSharma2511 · CC BY 3.0 Christ Church, Shimla
Chail Palace, Himachal Pradesh, October 2023. Shrey.ashi · CC BY 4.0 Chail Palace
Aamir Khan at the Toronto International Film Festival, September 2010. Gordon Correll · CC BY-SA 2.0 Aamir Khan, 2010
Sources
- 3On screen
Ladakh
The school at Shey stood in for the campus the production was refused. The climax was shot at Pangong Tso.
Druk White Lotus School, known locally as Rancho School, at Shey in Ladakh, July 2016. Ktoya · CC BY-SA 3.0 Druk White Lotus School
Pangong Tso, seen from eastern Ladakh, April 2016. Neek-Theri · CC BY-SA 4.0 Pangong Tso
Sources
Second choice
The school they were refused
Two Ladakh campuses: the one the production asked for and the one that said yes.
Filmed at
Druk White Lotus School
The school is at Shey in Ladakh. Locals also call it the Druk Padma Karpo School.
Its Nursery and Infant Courtyard opened in September 2001. Wikipedia names the Gyalwang Drukpa, Ladakh’s spiritual leader, as its founder.
Architects and engineers from Arup designed the masterplan and buildings, using local materials with environmental design.
Sources
Go and look
Seven places, three journeys
Ladakh needs its own trip from Leh, with a permit for the lake. Shimla and Chail share the hills of Himachal Pradesh. IIM Bangalore and the hospital in Noida are working institutions, so ask before you go.
Sources
Where it is now
7 places across Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and the plains. Three of them rest on location lists that name them without a scene.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working school. Write or phone the Visitor Centre beside the Shey stupa field before you go; a travel guide says visitors are welcome in school hours.
Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A high-altitude lake on the Indian side of the border. You need an Inner Line Permit, and groups need an accredited guide; boating is not allowed.
Druk White Lotus School, known locally as Rancho School, at Shey in Ladakh, July 2016. Ktoya · CC BY-SA 3.0 Ladakh · Shey, near Leh, Ladakh
Druk White Lotus School
Wikipedia says the production was denied permission to shoot at the Phey campus of SECMOL, so the scenes were shot at the Druk White Lotus School instead.
A working school. Write or phone the Visitor Centre beside the Shey stupa field before you go; a travel guide says visitors are welcome in school hours.
Sources
Pangong Tso, seen from eastern Ladakh, April 2016. Neek-Theri · CC BY-SA 4.0 Ladakh · Pangong Tso, east of Leh, Ladakh
Pangong Tso
Wikipedia says the climax of the film was shot at Pangong Tso.
A high-altitude lake on the Indian side of the border. You need an Inner Line Permit, and groups need an accredited guide; boating is not allowed.
Sources
Stay
A palace near Shimla.
A hotel in a former summer palace, in the hills where the film’s Shimla schedule was shot.
Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation
The Palace, Chail
Chail, Himachal Pradesh
The former summer palace of the Maharaja of Patiala, now run as a hotel with cottages, suites and rooms. A location list names it among the film’s places. Pictured: Chail Palace, 2023.
Check roomsGo there
Ask first, then go.
The school’s own visitor centre, and marketplace trips to Pangong Tso and around Shimla.
Druk White Lotus School
Druk White Lotus School Visitor Centre
Shey, Ladakh
The school’s own Visitor Centre, beside the Shey stupa field, with Rancho’s Café. The site gives a phone number and an email; ask before you go. Pictured: the school, 2016.
Contact the school
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Pangong Lake tours from Leh
Leh and Pangong Tso, Ladakh
Live marketplace results for trips to Pangong Tso. Check that the operator arranges the Inner Line Permit and a guide.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare tours
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Shimla walking tours
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
Live marketplace results for walks of Shimla, including The Ridge where Christ Church stands. Check each route.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
No dates yet.
Nothing dated for the film is listed at these places now.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
The archive
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
7 of 7 places · 7 of 7 stories
Druk White Lotus School
Shey, near Leh, Ladakh
Permission denied
The production is refused permission to shoot at SECMOL’s Phey campus and films at the Druk White Lotus School.
Pangong Tso
Pangong Tso, east of Leh, Ladakh
Shot in reverse
Wikipedia says the whole film was shot in reverse order, with the present-day scenes filmed first.
The climax
The climax is shot at Pangong Tso.
IIM Bangalore
Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru
Imperial College
The cast and crew stay on the IIM Bangalore campus in December 2008; it plays Imperial College of Engineering.
Chail Palace
Chail, Solan district, Himachal Pradesh
Woodville Palace Hotel
Mall Road, Chhota Shimla, Shimla
The palace visit
In Shimla, the trio visit the palace of the person who adopted Rancho.
Christ Church, Shimla
The Ridge, Shimla
Twenty days in Shimla
The crew shoot a 20-day Shimla schedule with Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
Fortis Hospital, Noida
Sector 62, Noida
The hospital scenes
The hospital scenes are shot at Fortis Hospital in Noida.